February 2011 Derm Digest Newsletter

  ADC Employees Bring Holiday Cheer   

     Although the holidays are behind us there has been some residual happiness from a local Southern California family thanks to the generosity and kindness of Animal Dermatology Clinic employees.
     For the past two years the staff at Animal Dermatology Clinic- San Diego has participated in an “Adopt a Family” program hosted by the Say San Diego organization. This past year the clinic was matched with a single mother, a victim of domestic violence trying to get back on her feet along with her three young sons.
     Recently, letters were routed back to our Secret Santas in San Diego from the adopted family. One child wrote:

Dear Donationers,
You people were the greatest people to give us the presents to us and I was happy and excited for the presents and said who gave us all these presents and it was you Donationers. I thank you for the presents.
Sincerely,
Cesar
 

     Employees enjoy the gift-giving says Dr. Brett Wildermuth, “It has been heartwarming participating in the Adopt-A-Family program the last few years. We have been in a fortunate position to provide holiday gifts to families in need, and it has brought us as much pleasure as the families we donated to.”

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Feline Scabies (Notoedric mange)

Notoedric mange is caused by a parasitic mite (Notoedres cati) in cats. This is a contagious disease and spreads to other cats by direct contact so all cats in a household will be affected if one is carrying the mite.
The mite can also affect dogs, foxes and rabbits. As with other mites in the Sarcoptes family, Notoedres cati can infect humans. The disease, though, is generally self-limiting, causing only temporary itching. Once the source cats are identified and cleared of the mites, other animals and humans will no longer be affected.
Diagnosis is confirmed by a physical examination, history and a microscopic examination of skin scrapings.
The symptoms of the condition are severe itching and crusting on the face, ears, neck and legs. As the disease progresses, the mites will spread to the feet and groin.
This characteristic spread is possibly related to the cat’s habit of grooming and sleeping curled up in a ball. As the disease pro-gresses, the skin will become thickened, wrinkled, and covered with grayish/yellow crusts. Secondary infections may develop due to the intense itching as the cat scratches himself to seek relief. The surrounding lymph nodes may also become enlarged as the problem worsens.
Treatment of the mites may involve ivermectin injections or lime sulfur dips. The most common method of treatment is topical application of Revolution (generic name selamectin) and shampoos are helpful in removing the crusts. Some cats may require a sedative to be properly bathed and treated.
Source: Canine and Feline Skin Disease, David Duclos, DVM ACVD